


The Way We Are Together

by crediniaeth



Series: Golden Path, Golden Light [1]
Category: Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-09
Updated: 2008-04-09
Packaged: 2017-10-06 20:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crediniaeth/pseuds/crediniaeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All she wants is her brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way We Are Together

Alia would never have allowed this had she been alive to witness it.

Fremen in the Imperial Throne Room; Fremen loyal to House Atreides, and others seeking its destruction. Stilgar, having returned to the Atreides fold after Alia’s suicide and Gurney’s council, brings the neutrality of Sietch Tabr to Arrakeen with Emperor Leto II’s blessing. It’s a dangerous move, but one that will bring peace to the sands of Arrakis, if tempers remain low and voices calm.

Leto knows this first meeting will end in disaster. He tells Ghani this the night before the first meeting. In the dark, he tells her to be strong, to not be frightened if knives are drawn, but she is her ancestor’s progeny, the same as her brother. She will be strong for her brother-husband. She will not be afraid.

Fear is the mindkiller.

\--

All goes according to plan, until the plan falls apart. The rebels were never ready to discuss peace; all they wanted was to be in the same room as the newly crowned Emperor and his sister-consort. Rebel plans unknown to Stilgar erupt violently in front of the Lion Throne causing the witnessing crowds to flee and scatter, taking with them any hope to resolve the matter peacefully. In the bedlam, Ghanima loses Leto. She knows he’s still near his throne and can almost make out his face in the crowd, but she finds herself surrounded by Fedaykin, and she cannot reach her brother.

Ghani tries to find a way out of her protective shield, searching for any way to break free and return to Leto, but in this shield someone else is also confined. Turning to face them, she finds the face of Sayyadina Klara, Sietch Tabr’s wise woman, though her years are few – a friendly face in the midst of chaos.

Ghani moves to speak, but the Sayyadina takes her hand and pulls her in tight. “Childhood friend,” she says, whispering in Ghani’s ear. “Repeat the words your ancestors taught you. The words you taught me.”

_I will not fear; fear is the mindkiller. I will face my fear; I will let it pass through me._

The two repeat the mantra together, and believe it together. Soon a third voice joins the chant, though only Ghani hears it. She hears the voice of her brother in her mind, repeating the words, calming her and giving her strength in her moment of weakness.

The three continue until the throne room is emptied, cleared of the rebels that broke the fragile peace that Arrakeen held. The Fedaykin spread out, allowing Ghanima and her companion to see the damage. The two meeting tables upturned and broken, chairs strewn about, so much red water spattered on the floor before her brother’s throne, and Leto, Emperor-brother, standing at the foot of the dais, untouched and unbroken by the whirlwind.

He moves toward the two of them, his face unmarred by pain or fear. The Sayyadina steps back, and Ghani stands still, allowing her brother to come to her. He extends his hand, and she accepts it. They kiss, allowing the emotion of the moment to flow between the two of them. Leto turns to Klara and smiles, knowing her presence was a balm to his sister’s mind. Klara bows her head, and retreats back to Stilgar’s clan, and later Sietch Tabr to begin negotiations again.

With the danger subsided for the moment, Ghani takes Leto away to their parents’ bedchamber, because to be alone with Leto is to be away from the universe, and Ghani does not want to be reminded of the pressures of the universe just yet.

All she wants is her brother.


End file.
